Skyports Drone Services and Royal Mail have celebrated the one-year anniversary of their drone delivery service on the Scottish Orkney islands by extending the pilot until at least February 2026.
The Orkney I-Port project is the first UK commercial drone delivery service to be implemented on a regular basis under existing regulatory frameworks – using a beyond visual line of sight with visual mitigation.
It has established a daily inter-island mail distribution service between Stromness on Orkney’s Mainland and the islands of Graemsay and Hoy. The 517 flights so far, operating in all weather conditions, have covered a total distance of over 1,360km.
The project is designed to demonstrate how drone operations can support critical public services such as Royal Mail postal deliveries and help Royal Mail to meet its Universal Service Obligation.
Furthermore, the fully electric drone delivery project improves connectivity, safety and service provisions in the rural island region and explores how 5G technologies can enable rural drone operations.
The extension is being funded by Connectivity for Remote Orkney Future Transport (CROFT), a UK Space Agency funded project announced by Skyports during Farnborough International Airshow.
Alex Brown, director, Skyports Drone Services, said: “Our Orkney flights with Royal Mail demonstrate the viability of long-term drone operations and highlight the role that new aviation technologies can play in supporting essential public services.
“This project also shines a spotlight on the work we do beyond flying. To secure the strong growth trajectory we believe drones can achieve, we’re working hard to support the development of an enabling ecosystem for drone services. Our next phase of work in Orkney will explore how 5G can support drone operations in harsh rural environments and provide key learnings that we can apply to other future projects.”
We deliver!
Our editor picks some choice pieces from the analysis flow and sends them to your inbox every Wednesday. Dedicated research report previews will also come direct to you. Subscribe for the emails.
Why not join us on Linkedin and you’ll get the best updates on our research and analysis – UK, Europe and Global – in your feed.
